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Saturday, August 18, 2012

It's finally confirmed, rolling shutter is a feature, which is weird if they're using the rumoured Beyer Dynamics sensor, as that one has a global shutter mode. If that's indeed the sensor, it would make a lot of sense to use that mode, or even better, have the option to go between the global shutter mode at 24/25/30fps and the 60fps rolling shutter mode it's capable of, but it probably isn't even using that sensor.

Getting back to the camera, because the sensor is a 16.1MP APS-C sensor designed originally for still photos, there will be more moire and aliasing than you would see from a dedicated video camera sensor because the optical low pass filter is designed for still photo resolutions as opposed to HD video. Although based on the NEX5N stills camera the video image processing has been tailored for video so the video image quality should be better than that from the stills cameras.

Today Sony announced a new camera in their NEX line, the NEX-EA50. The EA50 is essentially a shoulder-mounted version of the popular FS100. The ‘EA’ stands for Event APS-C, which clues you into what this intro level NEX camera is all about. The camera comes with a 18-200mm power zoom lens (F3.5-6.3) with optical image stabilization.

I think it's going to be more like the NEX-5 in image quality than the FS100.

After further trying, to milk out the last bit of the FS100 sensor, I think I finally came up with the “magic formula”.
It holds and rolls highlights better than any of my other profiles, gives more DR than ever and also is the closest you can get to S-Log in a FS100.
If you ever looked as a S-Log or Arri Log waveform or RGB parade you can see that most of the data lives between 20 and 80 IRE.

If you’re recording two audio inputs to camera they may come into Premiere Pro as a single stereo track (such as 2 separate audio mics for your talent). This can be entirely frustrating. You need to break these married audio tracks into dual mono, but how?

Five camera teams and crews of animators, puppeteers, and staff from LAIKA animation studios, along with a garrison of sixty Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR cameras have come together to help bring the new 3D feature film, “ParaNorman” to the big screen. The EOS

When I look at the iPhone 4S lighting setup on page 4. I can see that 32 additional minutes of lighting time were used to set up seven additional lights and a small assortment of grip gear. Page 6 shows me the Panasonic GH2 lighting setup, which employed three fewer lights but took nearly a half hour longer to set up than the iPhone did.

For me the creative test in part 2 gives a more accurate idea of real camera performance.
Rather than have each camera set up optimally, they are just thrown in there and left to cope. This is not how to handle the cheaper cameras even in an empirical test. The more expensive stuff has a wider operating window, and don’t need as many work arounds. Yet people tend to put too all the weight and importance into this form of empirical testing, even though it has nothing to do with how you’d shoot in the real world.

In-flight movies have long been part of airline travel, but director of photography Doug Chamberlain added a new chapter to their history when he shot the movie “Departure Date” on board commercial flights using EOS C300 digital cinema cameras from Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions. A 24-minute short feature written and directed by Kat Coiro, “Departure Date” was shot by Chamberlain over the course of nine days encompassing three continents, 28,000 miles, and a filming location moving at an average speed of 500 miles per hour at an altitude of 35,000 feet.

It is a scene playing out for more than a thousand independent and community theater owners across America, who must fork over between $65,000 to $150,000 per screen for digital theater systems or face extinction. And with each cinema that goes dark, a piece of the social fabric unravels with it, theater owners argue.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Completely out of left field, Sony announced a new large-sensor camera; the NEX-EA50. It's a little hard to completely figure this one out and how it will compare to their existing cameras (the NEX-VG20, NEX-FS100 and NEX-FS700.) While it looks like a big upgrade from the NEX-VG20 in that it has XLR inputs and a shoulder-mount design, it doesn't have the ND filters of the FS700, and there's speculation that the image quality will be closer to the VG20 than the FS100/700.

Sony has also come up with a power zoom version of their 18-200 lens. Not the fastest lens around, but for shoulder shooting (and with no ND) maybe you won't be shooting wide-open anyway!

Until the reviews hit, we have to guess; this probably won't effect sales of the FS700 much at all, but even if the image quality isn't quite as good as the FS100, this camera may spell the end of that one.

UPDATE: B & H has it listed at $4,000 with expected delivery of October 15th. That's $999 cheaper than the NEX-FS100 (body only) and the NEX-EA50 price includes the lens. And while it might not be an awesome lens, with the zoom control, it seems like a great combination with this camera. Again, we have to wait and see if the image out of the NEX-EA50 equals the FS100 and also what kind of picture style options it has before writing the FS100 off completely...

A shoulder mounted design is something I have wanted to see in an large sensor camcorder for a long time (I know that Ikegami were first but that camera wasn’t exactly cheap). The design means that to work in a run and gun style you don’t need to invest in extra support rigs to get out and shooting.

The two XLR sockets are a huge plus for camera at this price point – adding XLR audio to a DSLR has always been one of the biggest troubles for many shooters.

The other very interetsing news is that for the first time Sony released an E-mount 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS Power Zoom!!! It has continuous variable iris and Optical Steady Shot image stabilisation with Active Mode, which should give a more stable shot. lens is electronically controlled via either the zoom rocker lever on the camcorder grip or the top handle, offering either a constant zoom speed or smooth, slow zoom.

Concerns, Rumors, Peanut Gallery:
- If it’s same/similar sensor to NEX5n, it’s probably going to lack the low light capability of the FS100 or 700.
- If it encodes/scales similar to NEX5n, it’s going have less moire and aliasing than 5D2 and 7D, but probably more than FS100/700.

Alex Buono is perhaps best known for his work with the Saturday Night Live Film Unit. He shot the current opening for SNL, as well as many of the fake commercials seen on the show, but his passion is documentary and making independent films. “I’m always trying to get the next one off the ground,” says Buono, “and SNL, as much as I like it, it’s a lot of fun and I really like who I’m working with, [but] it’s this great day job I do while I’m trying to get a movie [going].”

[Sony] The company’s executives have said it is currently developing a 4K television although it will not be the first to market with one. Toshiba Corp. uses a 4K display in a glasses-free 3-D television it released last year, but the 55-inch model sells for about 780,000 yen, or about $10,000, in Tokyo.

You may have wondered what the 5600K CC button on the top left hand corner of the PMW-F3′s LCD does. As its name implies, it allows you to quickly change the white balance from 3200K (tungsten) to 5600K (daylight). The important thing to remember is that the button only works this way when the camera is set to a color temperature of 3200K. With firmware version 1.31, the 5600K CC button would simply “add” 2400K to your base white balance, so 3200K + 2400K = 5600K. With firmware v1.40, you will only achieve 5600K with the 5600K CC button when you start at 3200K.

If this new sensor does what they say, I think Red will get back a portion of the market they have lost to Arri, Sony and Canon. I am glad the focus is off of resolution and put where they need to focus instead. We have all heard Red hype before. I just hope is somewhat real even if they deliver half of what they promise.

• To get the smoothest low-frequency response, put the speakers near the shorter wall, and sit forward of the halfway point in the room.
• Use a foam isolation device under each speaker to ensure deep, tight bass. Auralex MoPads and Primacoustics Recoil Stabilizers work well.

Director Chris Kenneally began his career as a writer in Boston before being bitten by the film bug, moving to NYC and getting knee-deep in everything from post-production and editing to writing, directing, and producing. Much like his film’s subjects, the director exudes passion and enthusiasm while holding his own views on film, digital, and the future of moviemaking. Filmmaker had a chance to sit down with Kenneally to continue Side by Side’s dialogue on the state of the industry and the art that results.

Let Regret Be Your Gasoline
“Regrets? There’s tons. That is the fuel that keeps me going. It’s not success, it’s not money. It’s regret. I was on cruise control from ’85 to ’95, and it was my fault. There were a lot of self-inflicted wounds, when I was not doing any original material. I wasn’t directing. I wasn’t writing. That’s not who I am. I wish it was, it’d sure be a lot simpler, but it seems my fate is to be self-generating, produce my own films.

Since the announcement at NAB, our design team has been hard at work designing rigs to compliment this camera. “Designing rigs for this camera was no easy task. It was reminiscent of designing rigs for the DSLR’s but with a few twists”, says Product Designer Jens Bogehegn. Steve Weiss, Product Designer, goes on to explain, “DSLR’s and BMC ergonomics are very similar. You essentially have a camera that has to be held in front of your face to see the video."

The most common use for a pola is to cut reflections off of car windows. When you are driving down the road, nasty glare can affect just how much you see the faces inside the vehicle. By using a pola, you can choose exactly how much reflection you want to keep of overhanging trees or buildings on your windshield, or you can choose to eliminate all reflection to see deeper in the vehicle.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

I saw Woody Allen's latest, To Rome With Love the night before last. It had some funny moments - some of the scenes of the opera staged with the singer in a shower were hilarious - but it was too fragmented and uneven. Also, it was hard to tell what it was really about; was it a rumination on fame? Or the shallowness of relationships? It certainly wasn't really about Rome, or what the people of Rome were really like. it could have been set in London or Paris just as easily.

It would seem that teenage daughters have no interest in seeing the latest Bourne movie.

With summer temperatures in my house remaining high, my MacBook Pro is still getting hot, but I havent really had problems with the trackpad since it was misbehaving the other day. BUT I've been rather nervous about it. That's a problem with gear; when you start distrusting it, it's done for.

Watched Jaws on Blur-ray. It seemed more colorful and vibrant; perhaps slightly too much at points. But at least it wasn't as bad as what they did to North By Northwest, where the colors seemed way too artificial. I need to get the old DVD out and do a side-by-side to see how big a difference there is, but it certainly seems to be there. The box says it has six times the resolution of the DVD.

Why does it take so long for Blu-ray discs to load? That's a real party killer.

Now that the Olympics are over, I can get rid of my TV box. I've decided I don't watch enough TV to keep it, and want to see how much I'll save. Of course, I kept it until the Olympics, and watched hardly any of the events.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

I also had with me 3 more lenses: Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II and Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L. For a second / backup camera i had my trusty Canon 7D with the Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS that only mount on Canon EF-S bodies and it's my favorite 1.6x lens. With the latest Canon 7D Firmware Update (2.0) we also now have Manual Audio Control.

You can think of a PPro multicam sequence kind of like a sync map because that’s really what it is only you’ll see it and use it after a multicam clip is created (though you still might want to create a sync map before creating a mulicam sequence just to get that top down overview of all your angles and how they relate to reach other). If Premiere Pro’s multicam sequence sounds a lot like FCPX’s Angle Editor when we’re done with this discussion then you’re thinking the same thing that I did.

I really like the Magnetic Timeline in Final Cut Pro X. I find it a refreshing modern way of editing video. But if you prefer, it is very easy to override its magnetic features by using the Position tool instead of the main Select tool. This method allows you to freely move clips in the Timeline and leave gaps in their place.

Canon have announced the first photography-inspired film festival in history, aligning with five influential celebrities from five diverse disciplines who will direct short films under the tutelage of two-time Academy Award winner Ron Howard.

Block, who sees a lot of projects, advises, “Be realistic and think long term. Overnight successes are going, going, gone. Think in terms of what success means for you on a smaller scale. Think of your whole career, not just a single film. In the digital world, it’s all about people discovering you.”

The front rubber grips of some units of the Canon EOS REBEL T4i Digital SLR camera (EOS 650D/EOS Kiss X6i overseas models) may change color (turn white) after a short period of time. Customer support for this phenomenon is described below.

Rejoice, because there's a new MPEG video standard coming. It's called High Efficiency Video Coding and it will be twice as efficient as current standards. This means downloading movies twice as fast. Or doubling their quality. HEVC will arrive next year.

Short demo of the forthcoming CineSpider from moveyourcamera.com. The Modular and versatile CineSpider is not only an awesome flat surface dolly, but you can swap the wheels out for suction cups and turn it into the best car mount you've ever used, or bolt on the optional rod mount kit for further options. Here's a quick look at the CineSpider in car-mount guise
All footage shot on a Sony HX20.

There’s a handful of discussion circling criticism lately. From Kevin Smith becoming a critic himself while denouncing the profession to Rotten Tomatoes culling together all reviewing opinions into a convenient number to the general feeling that “criticism is dead” based on the proliferation of 1) bad critics and 2) an internet community that has made gate-keepers obsolete; it seems like the writing is on the wall for those who would piss on the writing on the wall.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Denoiser II just plain works and is quite robust. Even though it can be a bit time-consuming to render 1080p footage on a moderately-equipped machine, the final results will not only salvage otherwise unusable footage, but you will get the value of the $99 stand-alone price back in the first project you use it on! It also comes included with Magic Bullet Suite 11.4.1

I was surprised that, under the hood, the images from both codecs would be so different since they looked identical when converted from the original. Is Prores LT a total dealbreaker? Not necessarily. I could probably refine the skintone key in LT and get it looking pretty good, especially when blurring to include more values that the key didn’t get, but why not work with the best quality possible? Hard drives are cheap.

Online learning: How video changes and enhances the way we learn, discover how a great online video addresses the “why” of each lesson, presents the big picture of the subject matter, and supports the big-picture idea with granular details and steps.

While reminiscing about the film, we talk about the pesky shark not working and a few other stories on how JAWS came to exist and change Hollywood forever.
“...bigger than SOUND OF MUSIC, bigger than GODFATHER, the next thing you knew it was the highest grossing film of all time.”

I have to admit to having a soft spot for Jaws [Amazon $17.99]. I'd probably consider it one of my ten favorite movies. And now there's a Blu-ray version being released. I really, really, hope it's better than the Blu-ray version of North By Northwest, which I did not think was an improvement.

Digital shooting and post digital paint and rig removal has helped create the opportunity for an animator to focus on acting. Traditionally in stop-motion it's been up to the animator to hide any rigs, wires or other supports used to hold puppets up during a walk or a jump through the air. It usually takes a lot of technical time to keep on top of this during shooting. If an animator can stay in a creative acting zone in as long and as uninterrupted a block of time as possible then their performance will be stronger.

For example the end stops on the barrel of the lens have all been calibrated so that when you hit infinity it is physically the end of the lens. Unlike some other photo lenses that go beyond the infinity mark on the barrel of the lens and so that can be frustrating. This is especially annoying when you are under pressure and you are pulling your own focus because you rehearse a move then just go beyond infinity and you’ve lost focus.

I asked them if this problem was posted anywhere and they said no, people just call them if they have trouble. I think we need to post it wherever we can so people don’t have to waste hours of their time.

Guest Post: Be the Camera | Claude Kerven | Making The Movie
Some people say that things like story are more important than the camera. Claude begs to differ:

Without question, the art of filmmaking needs technology at its core. And the kinds of technologies we are working with today could change entirely in five and certainly ten years from now. What’s important is to acknowledge the role and utter importance of hardware and software – the need to master it, and the need to evolve with it.

Monday, August 13, 2012

In this exclusive interview I asked John about his career, how he got to where he is now shooting prime time Australian TV drama and feature films around the world and he also reveals how the Black Magic Design Cinema Camera originated as a passing comment.
John has also been working closely with the design team at Black Magic and how responsive they have been to his suggestions to make sure the image from the Black Magic Camera is just right before release later this month.

We had massive cue cards to help, a few painful attempts at me singing it to them to get the pace and timings, and of course nice loud playback. Essentially a lip sync music video with lots of people, quite the opposite of my sedate, moody video with Olly just a few days earlier!

In this eighth episode of the NeedCreative Podcast, your host Paul Antico was joined by Special Guest via Skype, Eric Kessler of Kessler Crane, to discuss the past week's events in indie filmmaking and technology, and tell you all about the history of Kessler. The tools we use to be creative also come from a passion and love for the craft for creating things out of metal, and Eric is here to tell us all about that and how it relates to his company. This is Eric's story.

And to keep it fresh?
Well, everybody's doing Bourne. There’s five things on TV exactly like that. That is an old party. It's time to leave the party, you don't want to be the last people out the door, so let's go first. Because if you try to just redo it, that's the “Super Bowl” thinking of cynical things.

3. Define a single self-marketing goal.
Think of the one thing you would like to achieve, in either the short-term or long-term, that is in line with your marketing reasons as above. This can be to book a new client, or to contribute a piece of work to an upcoming exhibition, for example.

Cameron intends to make his sequels to Avatar at a high frame rate, and Jackson is making his upcoming The Hobbit trilogy at 48fps. The first of Jackson’s films, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, opens Dec. 14. An early preview of some unfinished 48fps footage of the film drew mixed reaction when it was screened at CinemaCon in April.

This week on the show we have another Vimeo Film Festival award winner. This time it’s the winner for the 2010 Best Original Series: Ted Tremper (that’s the filmmaker, not the series). Ted won for his series “Break-ups”. This was a film series that consisted of shorts that were 100% improvised.

The first is that in the majority of setting the FS700 like most pro video cameras (EX, F3 etc included) records up to 109% (data bits 16 to 255). In the video world white is bit 235 (940 in 10 bit) or 100% and this is supposed to be your maximum with 104% typically allowed for broadcast. Anything above white is known as a superwhite.

Pixel size is the primary thing that determines the signal to noise ratio of the camera. Cameras like the FS100,F3, C300 and GH2 etc have big sensors with big pixels, that’s why they have low noise. That’s why 1/3″ cameras don’t do as well as half inch and half inch doesn’t do as well as 2/3″ and so on.

Wow, I wish I had done this earlier. What a difference. Clips play back smoothly, the system is more responsive and so far it has not yet crashed. So if your using Premiere CS6 and you are having issues I recommend you upgrade to Mountain Lion.

Muzzle flashes and other gun effects have been popular topics. Muzzle flashes by themselves are useless—you need the flash, smoke, a shell, a gun, bullet hits, audio, and more.
Here’s a few resources to help you put together something believable.

You will also want to make sure you keep your lenses and sensors clean. I don’t know how many time-lapses I have ruined from not having a clean sensor or lens. Take ten minutes after each shoot to make sure your gear is clean. It will help with the longevity of your gear. I use sensor cleaners, lens wipes, lens clothes and a puffer to keep things clean. I will show you in a later video how I clean my camera after a shoot.

The awesome hover car chase sequences from Total Recall was built by the wizards at Double Negative using real cars and incredible background CG cityscapes. In this exclusive video from The Daily and fxguide, watch how the final shots for the film were created.

When you’re writing on spec, you write a lot of action that needs to be exciting to the person reading it, but in a sense it’s abstract until the rubber meets the road and you’re really doing it. By the time we get there, these scenes are more than written. Sometimes they’re storyboarded, sometimes we videotape sequences of them with stand-ins. It’s very practical. It’s hard to say between writing and designing—where one stops and the other takes off.

Finally, an amazing dolphin video shot using a GoPro Hero in a home-made "torpedo"